I was laid off by company A about three weeks ago; it has been outsourcing work to India for a while now and also lost a major account. I was a victim of the third sizable wave of layoffs. Despite this, letting me go was considered a bit of a surprise within our office. I was a dedicated and innovative worker for Company A and my primary client (Company B) loved me. Company B was a bit pissed off about my layoff and my primary client contact at Company B went so far as to say there would be ramifications for Company A letting me go.
When the Vice President at Company B became aware, she passed around my resume to other departments at her company. Also, a previous defector from Company A, now working at Company B, got my resume to the right people and we had a meet-and-greet and now an interview has been set up for Thursday.
Now the top project manager (also my job, although she was a rock star) for Company A has quit. Company A called me to offer my old position back and would like to meet Monday (that’s three days before Company B interview). Do I tell Company A I have another interview scheduled and cannot give them an answer until that interview has concluded?
The pros for doing so:
It might provide Company A with an incentive to offer me more pay;
If I don’t tell Company A, they would expect an answer from within a day, and I have to meet with Company B;
The cons for dong so:
Company A (old employer) will probably figure out the interview is with Company B, the client, who would love to have me back at Company A. I don’t know how much of a stretch it is that Company A would alert Company B, which might block me from getting a job there (the interview is with a different department at Company B), but I sure would’t rule it out.
Other stuff worth knowing:
Even though I was disappointed with being laid off, there were no hard feelings and my departure was handled with grace (a month’s severence helped). I have many friends at Company A and the coworker with whom I worked most closely is like a best friend. Although some of the work was tedious, I very much liked my job.
Company B has already informed me the new position does not pay me as much as Company A did, about 10% less. Having a lot of debt and a child in private school, this matters. I do not imagine Company B offering me more, even if they knew my previous employer wanted me back.
Company A’s department is obviously depleting and I do not think the management is entirely competent. It would not surprise me if the parent company eventually shut the department down altogether (mere conjecture).
The product with Company A could be considered a dying technology (I’ll give it 5 years, but it could stay around for 10 or even 20). The product with Company B is pretty much at its forefront and is steadily growing worldwide. It’s here to stay.
The defector from Company A now at Company B says he’s in a great working environment.
Company A is about a 40-minute drive away. Company B is three miles from my home. Company B is also a freaking movie studio. :eek:
You have no reason or obligation to tell them anything; simply interview with them, hear their offer, and say you will inform them of your decision “in about a week.”
Did you sign a non-compete agreement saying you would not go to work with Company B (or any company you contracted with) for X amount of time after leaving company A? If so, going to work for Company B might end badly for you.
Barring that, there doesn’t look to be any significant downside to just telling A “hey, I’d love to interview to get my old job back, but I have another interview scheduled for Thursday, and I can’t give you an answer until I talk to them.” Granted, A has not exactly covered itself in glory with its managerial excellence, but they really do have to let you schedule interviews after they lay you off.
My previous employer could very likely offer me more cheddar if they knew I had another bona fide offer. I also feel it would be a bit awkward to give my previous employer a counter offer when I may not take it, even if they agreed to it (because I won’t have interviewed with my former client for the possible new job).
But my old client would love to see me get my old job back if they knew it was under consideration.
I’m usually not so neurotic about these matters – apologies all around.
If Company A gives you an offer, only give them a counteroffer if you would accept the counteroffer. Otherwise, what’s the point?
It would be fine to say, “Hey, that’s a great offer, I’ll get back to you in X days after I hear back from another company”. But don’t make a counteroffer until you know whether you’d take yes for an answer.
Does the reduction in commute time to Co. B offset the smaller salary in any meaningful way? Childcare costs came to mind, since you mentioned having a kid, but gas and upkeep (or bus fare, etc.) would also be reduced.
I’d interview with both, and keep your cards close with Co. A. No need to tell them more than they need to know.
If I don’t bring it up they probably wouldn’t. But then it would seem they would have a lesser motivation to offer me a better offer than during my previous run.
I should point out, I don’t consider myself to be the greatest negotiator. :smack:
That’s a nice suggestion to tell them I’ll let them know in a couple days. I just don’t want it to stretch out (especially if the studio drags it out, very plausible).
Not really. In fact, even at 40 minutes, it’s not usually a terrible drive (although as a tree hugger, it does please me to limit my carbon footprint). But I love being home with family 10 minutes after I get out of work.
You mentioned that Company A has been both outsourcing and has lost a major account.
What are the chances that if you go back to Company A, in 6 months (1 year, whatever) Company A will say “Thanks for coming back Moonchild, but your job has been moved to India” or “We’ve lost another account and we need to reduce head count” and you end up unemployed again?
Yeah. IMO, Company A has ruined the trust. A higher short-term income isn’t worth it in exchange for a longer drive and clinging onto a dying industry. I say take the job with Company B, but keep putting out resumes for Company C (which would ideally be better than either A *or *B in terms of pay and job security).
Saying that you are considering other options shouldn’t trigger them to think that it’s company B unless you tell them it’s company B. Just say you are considering other options (or offers if they’ve gotten to that stage) and leave it at that.
But I agree with the others, unless you are 2 years from retirement a good job with a growing company is better than a well paying job in a dying industry.
Very possible. I would require a written agreement that I could not get laid off within a specified amount of time, but I’m not sure how long I could get. Highly unlikely longer than two years and possibly not more than one year.
Just keep silent with Company A for the time being. You can always tell them that you just need time to think about it and discuss it with your family first.
Assuming that your 40 minute drive is about 25 miles, and that your car gets about 25 miles to the gallon, and that you work 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, I calculate that it’ll cost you about $480 annually in gas to commute to company A, and about $80 annually to commute to company B (if you drive). Also, driving to company A will put about 1500 miles a year on your car, and driving to company B will put about 12,000 miles a year on your car. I realize that company B is paying you less, and I’m not sure what 10% of your salary is, but the reduced commute will probably offset that a little.
Thank you all for your advice/suggestions: exactly what I was looking for, voices of reason.
For now, I am playing it close to the proverbial vest with my previous employer and not mention anything about the possible studio job. I’ll decide what to divulge during discussions.
Would it be wrong to tell Company A that you have a doctor’s appointment/toothache and dentist appointment/child care issue/whatever conflict for the Monday interview date, and ask to push it back to Friday?